Fielder&#39;s mitt



w. T. TOMPKlN Marh 23, I954 INVENTORK ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 23, 1954 FIELDERS MITT Walter T. Tompkins, Nocona, Tex., assignor to Nocona Leather Goods Company, Nocona, Tex., a corporation of Texas Application April 30, 1951, Serial No. 223,699

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to baseball gloves, and more particularly relates to means for retaining the padding used-in baseball gloves in the proper position therein subject to quick, easy replacement of the padding such as may be desirable when the padding loses its resilience and shape due to repeated impacts of a ball with the glove.

The function of a baseball glove or a baseball mitt, and the manner in which baseball gloves and mitts are used, are widely known and require no description. It is also well known that a baseball glove most effectively assists a baseball player using the glove when its design and construction are such that a ball caught in the glove will be securely retained therein until it is intentionally removed by the ball player. Accordingly, the common practice is to construct baseball gloves so that they contain a rounded pocket in the palm of the glove, which pocket generally conforms to the curvature of a standard size baseball.

, Abaseball glove customarily comprises a relatively heavy palm piece which forms the ballreceiving face of the glove, and a palm piece lining of softer and lighter material which contacts the front of the hand of one wearing the glove, and the ball-receiving pocket is formed in the palm piece by interposing between the palm piece posed across the heel of the glove and has one end extending into the little finger cavity of the glove and the other end extending into the thumb receiving cavity. The palm piece lining is maintained relatively fiat on the palm of the hand so that the padding thus raises the lower and the two side margins of the palm piece and provides a centrally positioned ball-receiving pocket in the palm of the glove. The finger section of the palm piece may, of course, be curved inwardly, and tends to do so naturally when a ball is caught in the pocket of the glove, to deepen the pocket and make the hold on the ball more secure.

The efiectiveness of the glove therefore depends to a large extent on the padding used in the glove being retained in the position and shape necessary to maintain a suitable ball-receiving pocket in the palm of the glove. The purpose of this invention istoprovide a novel and improved means for retaining the padding of a baseball glove in the position wherein it provides an effective ball-receiving pocket in the glove throughout extended use, and which at the same time is designed and constructed so that the padding can be easily and quickly replaced when such replacement is ultimately necessary.

One specific embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings for the purpose of facilitating an understanding of the. invention. It will be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific example illustrated and has application to all types of baseball gloves and mitts.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective View of a baseball glove embodying the present invention in which a portion of the palm piece is cut away to reveal. the padding and a section of the novel padding retaining means;

Figure 2 is a partial vertical section on line 2-2 of Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is a partial horizontal section on line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Referring to Figure 1, the baseball glove there illustrated comprises a palm piece indicated generally by the numeral In which has a central portion I l forming the palm of the glove, finger sections [2, and a thumb section I4 to provide a configuration similar to the hand. The palm piece consists ofan unbroken sheet of relatively stiff leather finished in a manner which will make it resistant to the abrasion incident to the use of the'glove. The outer envelope of the glove is formed by joining to the palm piece a backing piece 20 having the same general shape. The palm piece and the backing piece are stitched together along, their corresponding margins except at the bottom edges which are left open to provide the hand receiving aperture of the glove.

The backing piece may consist of a number of little finger side panels l6, l1 shown in Figure 1" may be considered as part of the backing piece of the glove. Similarly, the finger panels l8 are also a portion of the backing piece. The central portion of the backing piece 20 terminates above the bottom edge of the palm piece at about the line of the knuckles of one wearing the glove.

This portion of the backing piece 20 is shown in Figure 2 along with the strap 22 which extends across the back of the hand on which the glove is worn.

The glove is provided with a lining 24 for thepalm piece and a lining 26 for the backing piece...

28 which is Shown in Figure T i... 9Wer edge. of the lmi c lining 2.4 s more w t a ries of eyelets!!! which'are positioned to register with the row of eyelets 32 provided in the lower edge of the palm piece. The lower edge of the palm piece and the palm piece lining are releas ably secured together by means of the leather thong 34 which is serially threadedthroughthe corresponding eyelets in the-palm piece and the lining.

The pocket is formed in the. palmpi. the glove,

by inserting between the palm piece and th palm piece lining an elongated roll of padding, the out a line of which is shown in chain line in Figure 1, and the. cross section of which may be seen in Figures. 2. and. 3; Referring to Figure I, itwill be seen that, this padding extends across the heel of the glove. and at one end is. turned upwardly into. the little finger cavity of the glove, and at its other end is turnedupwardlyinto. the thumb receiving cavity of the glove, The. palm piece lining 24 is maintained in a relatively flat condition on the hand ofv the wearer, and: th pal-in piece is of such length that: it; may coniormto, the

curvature, of the. padding. roll without becoming,

taut-acrossthe palm section ll. fhe paddingroll 3Bthus, deflects .upwardhr the two side and the lower margins of the palm piece above. the level ofthe. central; section It which normallylies against the palm piece lining 2.4 as shown in the right-hand" portion. of Figure. A three-sided pocket or cavity is thus formed in the palm piece] and the. glove performs. its functi'onlmosteffective lywhenthe ball caughtwithi-n thispocketsince the walls or thepocket break th force or the salt being caught. and assist the player. inretaining the ball. in the glove until: he removes it intentionallr.

It; will; be seen, that; repeated impacts of aball with the glove: will causeth padding to become.

compacted and to; spread intothe palm section ll i of the. gloveithusreducingthe effeotitceness oitheglove,- inbreaking the. fierce of a baIlbeing-caught F and alsoidiminishingthe effectiveness oi the glove inretaining: the caught; ball-l According-to the presentinvention therpadding is. retained in its proper position between the palm piece and palm; piece lining .b meansofa. strip 38: which along one edgeis fixed tothepalmpiece-lining by means ofi a beading Mt, and which alongan; oppositeedge is fixed to. the lower-edge of the palm piece by a heading #2 i he inte'ra mediateportion oi-v the strip between the secured edges, forms a bight-wh-ich' extends upwardly. betweenthe palm. piece and the. palm piecelining. This! bight; in the stripencirclesthe padding and prevents thev padding 36 from spreading toward Q-pfl1m;SeOtiDn: H. The; stripv 3 3: may:- beerr-r t nded. across the; heel-; of the glove asindicatedin dotted lines in Figure 1*, or-it desired; it, maybe eatendech upwardly along the sides-or ma ma tothetopening of the little finger receivingcavity; ith tim urhi receiving cavity; respectively, as.

illustrated bythe dotted lines 44, 4B in Figure 1, and as shown in more detail in Figure 3. In Figure 3 the edges of the strip 38 are shown secured between the edge of the side panel I! of the backing piece and the edge of the palm piece Ill. In most instances, it is satisfactory to provide a retaining strip 38 only across the heel of the glove Sin e .ien rmelnee it sibe esis iegia iee t e s e ew hmo t r quent y absorbs the impact of the ball with the glove.

It will be apparent that the strip 38 may be fixed to the palm piece and the palm piece lining other ways than illustrated in Figure 2. For example, the strip as can be provided with eyelets posiitioned tq correspond with the eyelets in the lgwer edge. otth palm piece or lining so that the strip would be secured in the desired manner by the, leather. thong. 34 which is laced serially through. the eyelets 30, 32. In the construction shown and suggested it will be apparent that the padding 36 may be quickly and readily replaced by unlacing the leatherthong 34 and separating the loweredgesof the palm-piece and-the p piece lining. The elongated padding rol-la thenbe withdrawn and-a new 'rol-l inserted; difficulty encountered in inserting or posit on; ing-thereplacement padding roll since one end oftherol l-is rccei vedwithin the thumb receiving" cavity of the glove, the other end oftlj e ran} in the little finger-cavity-or the glove, and thei nt er mediate portion is positively and accurately posi tioned across the heel or the glove if; the bight pfthelstrip as. rneieathe then hs may the; he, laced through the registering eyelets along the bottom edge. of the glove, and; the glove isth restored-i tome-condition vhich-itfcan give the most eh ective assistance to the player wearing it,

Having thus described the'ir'i-vention, what: claimed: as new and desired to be secured by Let;- tersBatent A basebalt glove-of the kind havinga palm piece anclibaclring piece arranged to provide a thumb-7,

receivingcavi'ty-and pluralityof adjacent f ngerreeeiving-cavities, a. lining for the palm piece,

generally- U -shap'ed padding interposed between said: lining and: said palm piece; gen ur-shaped strip of material, the ends sewa eextend, respectively, into; said thumbereceiying cavity:and the finger-receiving cavitymost re mote iron-r the thumbreceiving v cavity; means l'eleasabl-y secure said strip alohgits on eggsto" etw e- 5 ec Pe n-P ece siteedge to the; bottom of said "li I saicl stripbetween said; secur encircling and registrable w L means for releasably securingjog d e of a d 3i iece er 5 means being e? s nse that; i sa al ece a d; ai 1 1g. rmi ti aid" s sir lilp ssin -tabs s: Withdrawn mei i eer q iptqee a men?" Be ore-a es G tsfl: the e ng Patent UNLZ 'EJA 'lell i Number Name Bate.

450,366 Decker hprflle, 1 89b LOHZ OEZ- King Sept. 23' 15338 

